ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Annotated Bibliography about Learning Communities. An annotated bibliography is a very efficient tool for selecting appropriate professional literature for literature reviews. For this assignment you will select 12-15 sources to review related to learning communities (communities of practice) or themes related to learning communities. It is recommended that you review current (1-3 year old) full text professional journals for this assignment. You may use the Internet, but no more than 5 sources should be from web sites. Annotated bibliography is different from a literature review in that it is not a running narrative. Instead, it is a collection of summaries of selected works. In other words, each listing in the annotated bibliography will have complete bibliographical information and a short summary of the content. The notion is that an annotated bib acts as a precursor to a literature review, or a source of first phase of information for a research project, etc. There is no need for a reference list at the end of the assignment.

Sample Annotated Bibliography Entries

The following example uses APA style (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition, 2010) for the journal citation:

Waite, L. J., Goldschneider, F. K., & Witsberger, C. (1986). Nonfamily living and the erosion of traditional family orientations among young adults. American Sociological Review, 51, 541-554. The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living.